Teen arrested for sending violent threats to Gulf Coast High School student

A high school student is under arrest for threatening their school. Deputies said the Gulf Coast High School student sent violent threats over Snapchat.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said a 16-year-old made threats on the social media app, Snapchat, toward another student.

In the past hour, WINK News spoke with a couple of students at Gulf Coast who said the school calmly handled the threat.

“I know that other schools in Naples have experienced this before, but to happen at your school,” said Chris Reed, a sophomore at Gulf Coast High School, “is kind of unreal.”

Colin Gerlach, a junior at Gulf Coast High School, said staff reminds them to use the school district website if they need to report concerning behavior. But like Reed, he is still stunned.

“Why would someone do that?” Gerlach said. “Why would someone try and make the threat to harm others and affect other peoples lives like that?”

The Collier County Public Schools communications director sent out an email notifying parents to the incident.

The district said these threats should serve as a reminder: ‘if you see something, say something.’ Also, it said parents should check on their kids’ social media accounts for any unusual posts.